Still Life with Three Lemons and a Mug (Day 3)

Today is the third day that I'm working on this still life painting. Here are pictures from Day 1 and Day 2. Please see earlier posts for detail descriptions.

My model for the painting - three lemons and my favorite coffee mug

Day 1: Acrylic underpaint

Day 2: First oil layer of local colors

Today I painted more details on the lemons and the mug. And I started applying more colors to the books. I decided to keep their colors dark and forms more abstract so that my main objects would stand out. Here is the result. Tomorrow I'm going to spend more time on the books. Meanwhile, they are too wet, and I have to WAIT AGAIN!

Still Life with Three Lemons and a Mug (Day 2)

Today is second day I'm working on this painting.
I started applying oil paints of local colors. I'm not using any medium other than the Eco-House (the non-toxic, odorless, eco-friendly solvent that I use in lieu of turpentine. It's made of orange peel.)
If you look close, you might be able to see the acrylic underpaint through the oil layers, which I intentionally left that way.
I still don't know what to do with books on the background, and decided to cover with ultramarine blue for now, which appears to be dark brown because of the cadmium red underpaint.

Now I have to wait until the surface gets dry enough, so I can paint more details. For me, this is the hardest part in oil painting - waiting - it really takes patience. (And I'm sure there are many out there agreeing with me.)